As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to these users is an information handling system. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may vary with respect to the type of information handled; the methods for handling the information; the methods for processing, storing or communicating the information; the amount of information processed, stored, or communicated; and the speed and efficiency with which the information is processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include or comprise a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
An information handling system may comprise a network device that is remotely managed using an Internet Protocol (IP) communications interface, such as the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), HTTP, or Telnet. One example of such an IP-managed network device is a network switch, which bridges or routes communications between the various devices (client terminals, servers, Internet portal, etc.) of a computer network. One difficulty of managing IP-managed devices is the necessity of assigning IP addresses to each device, especially when multiple devices are deployed at the same time. Although IP addresses can be assigned to each network device, assigning an IP address to each IP-managed network device can be a costly endeavor. In addition, when IP address are assigned to IP-managed devices on a default basis, there is a risk that two or more devices will be assigned the same IP address, resulting in an IP address conflict, which can cause difficulty, as the user will be challenged to know which device has been connected for the sake of configuration. In addition, an IP address could be assigned to a device that does not require later configuration. Following the initial configuration of the device, it is often desirable to leave the device in an unmanaged state in which the device does not have an assigned IP address.